Revelation 1:1

The Prologue

1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, ¹  which God gave him to show his servants ²  what must happen very soon. ³  He made it clear ⁴  by sending his angel to his servant ⁵  John,

Revelation 10:7

10:7 But in the days ⁶  when the seventh angel is about to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God is completed, ⁷  just as he has ⁸  proclaimed to his servants ⁹  the prophets.”

Revelation 10:10

10:10 So ¹⁰  I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and it did taste ¹¹  as sweet as honey in my mouth, but ¹²  when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.

Revelation 22:8

22:8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things, ¹³  and when I heard and saw them, ¹⁴  I threw myself down ¹⁵  to worship at the feet of the angel who was showing them to me.

[1:1]  ¹ tn The phrase ἀποκάλυψις ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (ajpokaluyi" Ihsou Cristou, “the revelation of Jesus Christ”) could be interpreted as either an objective genitive (“the revelation about Jesus Christ”), subjective genitive (“the revelation from Jesus Christ”), or both (M. Zerwick’s “general” genitive [Biblical Greek, §§36-39]; D. B. Wallace’s “plenary” genitive [ExSyn 119-21]). In 1:1 and 22:16 it is clear that Jesus has sent his angel to proclaim the message to John; thus the message is from Christ, and this would be a subjective genitive. On a broader scale, though, the revelation is about Christ, so this would be an objective genitive. One important point to note is that the phrase under consideration is best regarded as the title of the book and therefore refers to the whole of the work in all its aspects. This fact favors considering this as a plenary genitive.

[1:1]  ² tn Grk “slaves.” Although this translation frequently renders δοῦλος (doulos) as “slave,” the connotation is often of one who has sold himself into slavery; in a spiritual sense, the idea is that of becoming a slave of God or of Jesus Christ voluntarily. The voluntary notion is not conspicuous here; hence, the translation “servants.” In any case, the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ³ tn BDAG 992-93 s.v. τάχος has “quickly, at once, without delay Ac 10:33 D; 12:7; 17:15 D; 22:18; 1 Cl 48:1; 63:4…soon, in a short time…Rv 1:1; 22:6…shortly Ac 25:4.”

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Or “He indicated it clearly” (L&N 33.153).

[1:1]  ⁵ tn See the note on the word “servants” earlier in this verse.

[10:7]  ⁶ tn Grk “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel.”

[10:7]  ⁷ tn The aorist ἐτελέσθη (etelesqh) has been translated as a proleptic (futuristic) aorist (ExSyn 564 cites this verse as an example).

[10:7]  ⁸ tn The time of the action described by the aorist εὐηγγέλισεν (euhngelisen) seems to be past with respect to the aorist passive ἐτελέσθη (etelesqh). This does not require that the prophets in view here be OT prophets. They may actually refer to the martyrs in the church (so G. B. Caird, Revelation [HNTC], 129).

[10:7]  ⁹ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[10:10]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the instructions given by the angel.

[10:10]  ¹² tn Grk “it was.” The idea of taste is implied.

[10:10]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[22:8]  ¹⁶ tn Or “I am John, the one who heard and saw these things.”

[22:8]  ¹⁷ tn The pronoun “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[22:8]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “I fell down and worshiped at the feet.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”